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| - This was our first experience at Amaro Pizzeria and we had been looking forward to it since we sampled them at The Taste of Cave Creek.
Went with two other couples on a Tuesday night. First impression: a kind of urban, upscale vibe---surprising for a place that calls itself a "pizzeria". (Makes me think checkered tablecloths and wax-dripped Chianti bottles). Pleasantly low lighting & music. We were seated at a large high-top just right for 6 people---a little sorry to see that the upholstery was worn thru to the foam beneath. Meh! (Note to owner-check out Alida Restaurant Supply. They rock upholstery. Ask for Keith) But otherwise the dining room and bathrooms were nice and clean.
Our server was a real Italian. Pretty charming and on the ball. He had us our wines and one lemondrop martini promptly.
DH and I ordered the bruschetta for a starter. Very good. Edges of the bread were perfectly dark-toasted, the almost burnt taste the perfect compliment to the sweet/ herb-y taste of the tomato and basil that was piled high. The other couples chose salads, which they liked, though one DC commented she thought it was a little heavy handed on the dressing.
For entrees, DH ordered the Chicken Parmesan, which the server said was one of the house specialties. I ordered Tagliatelle Amatriciana. DH uses chicken parm as his benchmark for an Italian restaurant---and he said this was some of the best he had had! A ginormous piece (covered the plate!) of crisp, breaded chicken with perfectly balanced marinara and a small portion of tender-crisp broccolini. He said it was NJ Italian good, but was disappointed that there was not even a small portion of pasta to swirl up every bit of the yummy sauce. My Tagliatelle Amatriciana was really good---pasta was cooked perfectly---would have been perfect if it hadn't been underseasoned to my taste. It REALLY needed a bit of salt, and that kind of bothered me even as I enjoyed all the other flavors. And there was no salt or pepper on the table.I don't like that kind of conceit on the part of a restaurant---that they are so good they don't need to provide condiments to diners. It's no reflection on the chef's skill---some days I like things saltier than others. Anyway, lack of salt took the tagliatelle from an A+ to a B. The other two couples each split pizzas. They looked delicious---and our DC's said they were! One couple had the Pizza Diavolo and the other the Margherita. There was nothing left of either pizza at the end of the meal, so they enjoyed!
Finished with 2 orders of the zeppoles to share. I have never had zeppoles, which are kind of an Italian deep-fried doughnut. Two of our party are Brooklyn Italians, and said they were nothing like the zeppoles they grew up on in NYC. Like I said, I had never had them before, but because they were rolled in a thick coating of powdered sugar, they were almost too sweet when combined with three fabulous sauces that accompanied----a nutella, a raspberry coulis, and a creme anglaise. wish they had lightened up on the XXX sugar so you could really enjoy the nuances of the sauces. This is NOT to say we did not devour every bit of the doughnuts AND swiped up every bit of the sauce!
At that point I think we've a 4 star Yelp, then the server brought the bill. And it was one bill for the six of us. Okay, we forgot to tell him that we needed 3 checks, but I'd think common sense and 3 obvious couples might've inspired him to ask if we wanted separate bills. One of our party asked if he could re-ring it into 3 checks and he flatly said: "No, I cannot." Mass chaos ensued as we figured it out, because there was lots of wine and dishes and you know how calculators on cell phones are. I am frustrated and I say out loud to the DC next to me: "For pete's sake, he could have re-rung these---he's just being lazy." I didn't know he was standing behind me. The next moment, I am being told loudly and firmly that he is NOT lazy, that he works very hard, that it is impossible for him to re-do the check... It was kind of embarrassing, getting caught with my foot in my mouth AND getting reprimanded. The interesting part? One of our fellow couples realized she'd forgotten to use a Localdines coupon and she gave it to him and he whisked away and returned a few minutes later with ONE check that had been RE-RUNG with the discount taken. Heeelllloooo? So, he can re-ring the check to reflect a discount, but not to complete what until then had been a pleasant dining experience? Plus DH was not happy that our server took me to task---he said right or wrong, you don't publicly chide a customer.
Food was probably a 3.75, with lack of salt and no pasta with the chicken parm taking it down from a 4, and 4 service ended up being a 2, because you do NOT embarrass a customer publicly and the check debacle... We will probably go back at some point, but there's so many other Italian restaurants in the North Valley to try out--not for a while, probably...
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